The End's Beginning
by Cantankerous Fairy
Summary: No one has ever known. She's been forced to hide her power and who she really is, all because of the Uchihas. He owns her. She submits to him against her will. An ancient master-servant relationship bonds their clans, and Sasuke and Sakura seem to be stuck in the middle. This is her journey - her real journey - behind all the masks. SasuxSaku. LEMONS. Sticks to CANON.
1. Chapter 1

*****THIS STORY HAS BEEN INSPIRED BY THE FILM "PRINCESS MONONOKE" AND THE TV SERIES "AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER". THERE ARE MANY INCORPORATED THEMES FROM THOSE TWO ANIMATED WORKS.**

**This goes out to all you Sakura lovers, who wish that she wasn't put off as such a weenie. She's way cooler than that. This here is the back story to the upcoming events. Have fun reading, and Don't Forget To Be Awesome!**

**-Liz**

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~_Prologue_~

Long ago, in lands far to the East, there was a land known as Fire Country. At the center of Fire Country was a village known as Konohagakure. From that village came a clan known as the Uchihas. It was a great, wealthy, and powerful clan that had come to be revered and known throughout all the lands.

This clan sought to conquer.

Albeit, the lands to the East had been all but conquered, and those other mighty clans − like the Uchiha − had begun to cease their wandering of lands, only to settle down in villages. This was no puzzlement to the clan's elders. For, if they could not go East, then they would go West.

For West is where we all plan to go some day. It is where you go when the land gives out and the old-field pines encroach. It is where you go when you get the letter saying: "Flee, all is discovered." It is where you go when you look down at the blade in your hand and see the blood on it. It is where you go when you are told that you are a bubble on the tide of empire.

And west did the clan and its elders go, in search of lands of gold to conquer and great wonders to discover. Past the temples of Fire Country and far, far past the great deserts of Wind Country – this is where the clan sought to go.

In those lands far past any civilization of the known, the Uchihas faced mighty, thousand-year-old forests, untouched by man since the beginning of time itself. The trees stood taller than 100 men stacked on top of one another, the water the clear like crystals, the air was crisp, and the sky – oh, the sky – it was a blue that landed somewhere in between cerulean and God-like, pock-marked with clouds the purest shade of white.

In these virgin forests of gigantic stature, Gods of the ancient world ruled and lived together in peace with the only humans to ever walk the earth of the west – the Haruno clan, who dwelled deep in the mountains. They lived among the gods, and thought they walked close to the earth, these people where in tune with the elements around them, and could bend them to their whim. Their skin was pale like the moon and their hair was white like the snow and the clouds.

When a war between the Gods and the Uchihas erupted, the Haruno people where the ones to get stuck in the middle. The Uchihas burned the forests with their ancient jutsu, crumbled the mountains with their might and bloodied the land and the water with their katana and kunai. The Gods cursed their heads as they took the Haruno clan away in chains, back to the East to be slaves.

Since then, the Haruno clan has served under the Uchihas, doing their every bidding on a whim. The Uchihas where harsh to their servants, and saw them as no more than property to be owned. But still, the Harunos and the Uchihas had a strong bond. Whenever a child among the Uchiha was born, he or she would be given a Haruno child, right around the same age, to grow up with. The selection was based off of ancient astrological rituals performed by the clan's elders. The chosen Haruno would then be the Uchiha's servant for all their lives, never leaving his or her side.

There came a time where a one Sasuke Uchiha was born at the end of the seventh month. What a strong, healthy child he was. When the elders of the Uchiha had read the stars to determine Sasuke's servant, it was shocking to find that the one the stars had chosen was a petite, pick haired infant. Such a hair color on a Haruno was not known, and the elders considered taking the child and leaving her out on a mountainside to die.

For some reason unknown, the elders never did leave that little pick haired girl out on a mountainside to die.

Now they have grown together, and faced terror together.

As the Uchiha clan had been wiped out, so had the Haruno clan.

The only survivors had been Sasuke, and his little pick haired servant, Sakura.

Through the years, the two had devised a cover to their master-servant relationship, and Sakura had taken her place among the many shrieking fan-girls, forced to hide her true power.

Forced to be with Sasuke.

Forced to act like a weakling, only to glorify her master.

Forced to be his property.

Forced to obey his every order.

Then, at the academy, the two had been placed on the same Genin squad.

From that moment on, it has been the end's beginning.

May the God-given curse upon the Uchihas be merciful towards this chained girl.

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**Review and let me know if you're interested to read more! I plan to take this a long way.**

**Till next time, cheers!**

**(DFTBA.)**


	2. Chapter 2

~_The Night Before_~

"The Chunin Exams, huh? That doesn't sound so bad." Sakura smiled at Sasuke's mention of the exams as she continued to fold one of Sasuke's royal blue shirts with the Uchiha crest on the back.

The crest that enslaved her ancestors and kept her chained to this house with this boy.

The crest that made the rivers run red with blood and the skies grow dark with smoke and ash and the trees fall and the mountains crumble.

The crest that she was taught to fear.

Sakura in particular had been looking forward to using up some of her pent-up chakra; it was just itching to be spent.

Sasuke sat on his bed, laid back into the pillows. One hand propped up a small book in front of his face and the other relaxed behind his head. Sakura sat on the floor beside Sasuke, where she had more space to fold the laundry. She always did Sasuke's laundry first, and then her own. The afternoon sun was low on the horizon and Sakura was humming a tune that was quite popular around the Leaf Village. There was something about the tune that made a person nostalgic for people they've never seen and places they've never been to.

That tune made her think of her clan, which was now long gone, and which had been long gone even before they had been slaughtered at the hand of one man.

This man was one that Sakura had been taught not to fear, but to hold in hate and disgust, just like her master.

"Yes, but what of that Gaara of the Desert? I'd like to know more about him. He will prove to be a tough opponent," Sasuke mused absentmindedly as his focus went in and out of the book he was reading. He would've never dared to say he was worried, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he was. "And of course if anyone so much as touches you, I'll break both their arms."

Sakura stopped folding a pair of Sasuke's white shorts to look up at him. She always became uncomfortable at the thought of Sasuke caring for her in such a way, even though it was certainly nothing new. A faint smile crept along her lips and then instantly vanished ― like the flame on a candle ― before she spoke up.

"Sasuke-sama, you don't need to worry about me. I only live to serve you. Whatever happens to me means nothing, as long as you are safe. You know that."

There was something in Sakura that ― while she generally held a secret disgust for the Uchihas and their belligerent ancestors ― cared for Sasuke with a burning glow of passion. It happened to be a most confusing feeling that Sakura did her best to not dwell on for too long, because it just made her question things.

If Sakura had to only have one rule for herself in life, it would be to not question an Uchiha while you are a Haruno.

That was that.

Sakura was about to begin folding again, when a hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her up onto the bed. Sasuke had maneuvered her so quickly; it was something of a blur for her. Sakura was now on top of Sasuke, her knees on either side of his reclining form. Her left wrist was locked in his grip, so she was able to support her upper half on her right arm. Sakura's shocked face remained suspended just centimeters away from her master's, and for a moment, she forgot how to breathe. No matter how much Sakura disliked it, he always seemed to have that effect on her.

"Sasuke-sama, please−"

"Sakura…." Sasuke said, taking one of her pink locks and playing with it between his fingers. The volume of his voice dropped to a whisper so quiet, it would have put a church mouse to shame. "You're the only person I have left.… I couldn't bear to lose you – not ever." Sasuke's voice was a soothing whisper, something that only she had known he was capable of.

Sakura let out a steady breath from her nostrils, trying to gather her thoughts.

"Sasuke-sama…please…. This is wrong. This is wrong and you know this."

Sasuke smiled an amused, crooked smile. "Sakura ― I can do whatever I want to you―"

"Yes, but this is wrong, as put forth by the ancestors of your clan―" Sakura cut Sasuke off, only to be cut off by Sasuke's hand hitting her square across the face.

She had just made an awful mistake, and this was something that she knew all too well. In an instant, the pink haired girl had been flipped underneath her master. Her cheek stung with a searing pain. Breathing had become difficult, as one of Sasuke's hands had wrapped around Sakura's throat.

Sasuke was furious, getting ready to strike her again with his freehand. "You do not _ever_ interrupt me while I am speaking," He tightened his grip on Sakura's throat, making it apparent that he would easily kill her right here and now, despite the fact that he had only moments ago told her that he could never bear to lose her. Sakura remained calm, her eyes locked on Sasuke, but not on his eyes.

She wasn't allowed to look him in the eye.

Sasuke's fist did not connect with Sakura's face, as she had anticipated, but instead with her ribcage, effectively knocking the wind out of her. Small tears involuntarily sprung from the corners of her eyes, but still she remained calm.

'_Stay calm. You can get through this. He won't kill you and nothing lasts forever. He'll stop. He's had his fill,'_ Sakura thought to herself to keep level-headed. Getting worked up and fighting back would only make him angrier.

Sakura was right. She took one more blow to the ribcage before he got off.

"Can't have anyone seeing those bruises, now," Sasuke murmured as he motioned for Sakura to stand up. She scrambled off the bed and got to her knees, bowing to Sasuke in hopes of forgiveness.

"Hn," was the only sound Sasuke made before he left the room and went to go have a shower. Tomorrow was a big day for the whole team, especially Sasuke, and he needed to be ready. Sakura didn't move until she heard the bathroom door shut.

The pink haired girl got to her feet, nearly tripping over her dress, and quickly went to the mirror at the back of the bedroom door to have a look at her ribs. She unzipped the front of her red dress and poked at the exposed flesh. She winced at the slight pain and concluded that they were indeed bruise. Zipping herself back up, she thought it best not to cry, because that would only make things worse.

The sound of the shower starting made her snap back to reality.

'_The laundry. Finish the laundry and you can go home,'_ She thought to herself, pulling back her long pink her in a hair band. Sometimes, Sakura would stay with Sasuke at his apartment when he was in a good mood or needed her to do a lot of things like cook and clean. But on nights when he got angry at her, she always knew that it was best to leave and go back to her apartment once she finished up.

Sakura finished the laundry, put it all away in its rightful places and left the apartment before Sasuke got out of the shower.

She would have to get ready for tomorrow too.

Neither she nor Sasuke knew exactly what the Chunin Exams would entail. But as for Sakura, she hoped it would finally give her the chance to blow off some steam and break someone's neck in half.


	3. Chapter 3

"Long ago, in ages past, the land laid covered in forests, where, in ancient times, dwelt the spirits of the gods. Back then, man and beast lived in harmony. But as time went by, most of the great forests were destroyed and the land fallowed. Man tore down the great trees of old and built civilization on that fallowed land. Those forests that remained to the West were guarded by gigantic beasts who owed their allegiance to the Great Forest Spirit. For those were the days of gods, and of demons…."

Sakura recited the story for the nth time from heart, as she was taught to by her long since passed on mother, and her mother's mother before that. Her words were soft, as she did not want others to hear what she was saying. Although the tale seemed taller than Hokage Mountain, she knew it was true, and Sasuke knew it was true, and that's all they needed to know in order for Sakura to keep her voice low.

Sasuke liked that story primarily because his mother used to tell it to him as a child. The only difference between his mother's and Sakura's was that the pinkette's version stopped just before it got to Sasuke's favorite part. Said ending had been added on by his clan in order to glorify the kekkei genkai wielders it spoke of. In his mother's version, the Uchihas had come into contact with the people of the forest ― those that had become the enslaved Harunos ― and slaughtered them with their superior shinobi ways, therefore defying the so called gods that lived in the great forest by taking those people away in chains ― back to the motherland of the shinobi clan where they would become civilized ― like human beings should be. This, according to the wives of the Uchihas, was a tale of grandeur and truth fit to be a bedtime story for their children when sleep did not nest in their eyes so easily.

Sasuke, ever the energetic one as a child, would usually force himself to stay awake late into the night while waiting for his once so beloved older brother to come home from training, or from a mission. But of course his mother ― ever the at tentative one ― would foil his scheme and instead lay him in bed ― more often than not against his will ―, turn out the lights, and tell him old tales of adventure about men that sailed the seas to discover new worlds, warriors that had traversed the tallest mountains and the lowest valleys in order to save a princess that had been stolen away to a distant land, and shinobi that had walked the Earth and back in order to learn all the jutsu there ever was and become the best of the best. This all kept Sasuke entertained, but his favorite stories were those about the clan in which he had been born into.

For these stories, his mother would always tuck him into the bed tightly between the sheets and then lie herself down on her side next to her son, propped up on one elbow that supported her head so she had her eyes on her little man. Then, in a hushed voice that was only low enough for Sasuke to hear and that carried a soothing tone about it, his mother would coo the words to the stories about how their mighty clan had risen up and marched to the great forests of the West with no fear in their hears, but instead the confidence for conquering, which was what they did.

Hearing the tales again made his chest loosen, instead of being tight with anticipation and nerves from walking onward to the Chuunin Exams. They made him feel ― not whole again ― he could never be whole again with his entire clan wiped out of existence by the man he now considered to be his heartless and soulless monster of a brother ― as if a part of him was being put back into place in the form of nostalgia. But, of course, there was always a catch to his partial fulfillment. Normally, as soon as the stories ended, Sasuke would feel a faint pain prick him at the base of his heart. He guessed it was his own yearning for his family. His guess was very much correct.

It were emotions like that, Sasuke concluded, that were holding him back from one day achieving the goal that he would forever strive towards in hopes of gaining some sort of closure that would allow him to finally rest easily with peace of mind.

In any case, it's not like they were the exact same stories that his mother told. Despite being proud of his clan and their accomplishments, the young Uchiha could never ask his pink haired companion to recount the brutal enslavement of her people. Something that was often misconceived by outsiders was that Sasuke Uchiha did in fact have a heart, and he did in fact use it to care about someone. Despite the mask that he shielded himself in on the outside, Sasuke cared about Sakura Haruno more than anyone else. Whether it was love or something else, he did not know and he certainly could not say. But he did care for her and he would do anything to keep her safe and sound, as would she.

And because he cared for her so much, from the time that the two had been released from the hospital exactly one week after the massacre of both their clans, Sasuke had instructed her to cloak herself in a persona that did not fit her at all in reality ― a stuttering, blushing little girl that would faun over the Uchiha as the rest of the girls in their academy class would. He himself would treat her as such in front of others in order to create an unknowing of those around them about their true relationship.

It was in fact true that although the Harunos had lived so closely with the Uchihas, the relationship status between the two families was unbeknownst to the villagers and even the government that supported the village in which they all lived. The Uchihas had brought the People of the West and of hair as white as springtime clouds back to the village under the First Hokage's regime and presented them to the people as friends, not slaves. It was only until the massacre that the true nature of the Uchiha-Haruno relationship had been unearthed. Yet, even then, the only ones to know about it were the three village elders and the Third Hokage.

But what was it that the elders did not see prior to learning the truth about these two families? What was the true purpose of this white haired clan and what could they really do?

Now as the pair walked along the main road that ran through the Village Hidden in the Leaves, they dodged that morning's peanut gallery shoppers and passersby with great ease. The roads were rather busy for a Tuesday morning, but this seemed only fit. Today marked the commencement of the Chuunin Exams, leaving just about the whole village in the same frantic, helter-skelter pace it had been going at for a little under two weeks, which was when news about the exams had first gotten out.

And then came the faint pricking at the base of his heart – the one that suggested that he missed his family.

"Let's go around," Sasuke said as Sakura had finished her story for him. He didn't like crowds; this was something that Sakura knew all too well about him. Therefore, she did not have any protest whatsoever on this notion and continued to follow him onto the side street that was barely inhabited at all.

The dirt that paved the narrower side street ― in comparison to the main street that is ― was a lighter shade of brown. The main road had been worn down to an earthy clay color due to the countless villagers that tread along it every day to get where they are going. This domicile-lined road was a light shade that resembled an unbaked pastry of sorts. One side of the street was lined with mismatched places of residence for civilians and shinobi alike. Some homes had laundry hanging out on the balconies, some had flags of the Land of Fire perched in their windows or flying in the breeze from a rooftop pole, and some had smoke from cooking stoves piping out of their thin chimneys. All the homes were tall and vertically thin in order to fit a large number of them on such a small street. On the other side of the road, there was a grassy area that hilled just above the street. A low stone wall lined the bottom and the hill just seemed to grow out of it. Children played kickball while their mothers hung up laundry on clothes lines that had been erected. A little boy carrying his baby brother on his back came into contact with the pair and bowed at them slightly as he passed them on his way to the water pump nearby.

"This part of the village is so nice and…homey. Don't you think, Sasuke-sama?" Sakura asked in a tender voice that seemed to be swept away by the wind.

Sasuke just shoved his hands into the pockets of the shorts Sakura had washed for him last night and gave a grunt.

"Hn."

Sakura didn't know if that meant he agreed or disagreed, but that noise alone was enough for her. She knew it wasn't her place to badger him for an answer.

One would think by now that the pinkette would be able to deduce the Uchiha boy's secret language ― a language that primarily consisted of an interjection made up of two consonants ― but, alas, she had not. Still, it did not frustrate her like it did most people. That humble interjection always came wrapped in some sort of tone, which was easy to figure out. That "Hn" of his was one of indifferent contempt.

If he was contempt, so was she.

A woman in a long purple kimono passed the pair just as Sasuke led Sakura down another street. This way was longer to get to the site of the Chuunin Exams, but the two had left early. This meant they had time to spare and Sasuke wouldn't have to deal with people. He usually didn't mind them. It was just crowds that set him on edge. Sakura smiled at the woman. Sasuke was indifferent. As the woman turned the corner that Sasuke and Sakura had just come off of, Sasuke knew that he and Sakura were alone. The street they were on was more of a narrow alleyway between apartments. Sasuke stopped abruptly; his walking companion imitated his movement, or rather, lack thereof.

"Do you have everything? The building is just off the next street. We're not turning back if you forgot anything," said Sasuke. He just stood looking forward, his hands still resting in the confines of his pockets; his chin lowered to the ground a bit. It seemed as if he was eyeing a particularly interesting weed.

"Sasuke-sama, I have everything. I checked twice this morning like you said I should," said Sakura.

"We'll check again; together this time. I was busy with my own things this morning. We don't know what this exam will exactly entail, so I want to be entirely sure that you have everything in case of the worst," said Sasuke, turning to Sakura with a look in his eye that seemed to be a faint spark of nerves.

Despite popular belief, Sasuke Uchiha was not entirely made of stone. It was just his outward appearance and his ability to withhold _most_ of his humanly emotion that made others think that.

"Kunai?"

"Check."

"Shuriken?"

"Check."

"Wire?"

"Check."

"Forehead protector?"

"Check."

"You know, it's called a _forehead protector_ for a reason. Put the damn thing where it should go," said Sasuke with a flick of annoyance in his voce.

"And if I did that, it'd seem out of character," said Sakura, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Plus", she started again, "I think it looks better this way." Her comment was given forth with a smile and a light giggle. Despite being who she was and in the snafu she was in, Sakura was still a pre-teen girl. Being such a creature meant that she did indeed have an opinion of what looked best on her and how to properly take care of herself. Her long pink hair was conditioned twice a week ― although Sasuke, being the stubborn boy that he was, saw no point in it and almost always let her know his thoughts on the matter ― and despite having a…larger than average…forehead, Sakura still kept her forehead protector positioned atop her head instead of its rightful place, covering her forehead, like Sasuke would have preferred.

"Fine. But if you get hurt, so help me…," Sasuke mumbled, the lids of his eyes lowering fractionally in an almost deadly stare.

'_So help you, what?' _Sakura inwardly sighed, _'No one's going to help us. I thought you would have figured that out by now. We may be in this together, but we're in it alone.'_

Always together, but always alone.

It was their philosophy; their way of being and maybe, one day, their way of dying.

Sakura just sighed in exasperation as Sasuke continued his check. Sometimes Sakura thought that he cared too much. But she understood his inner conflict and sadness like no one else, so something like this wasn't such a big deal to her.

"Water?"

Sakura put a hand to the conch-shaped leather pouch filled with water. She had fastened it the side of her back weapons pouch. The leather was stiff and thick, and despite its age and the amount of owners it had had, it was in good condition. Such an heirloom of her ancestors was something she never used on missions or when with Naruto or Kakashi-sensei, as instructed by Sasuke. But the Chuunin Exams were a special occasion.

"Check," Sakura confirmed with a nod of her head, her long pink locks swaying in the sudden breeze that had just burst into the alleyway.

"Good. Make sure you have it at all times. If we're split up or put someplace with no water, then at least you have something to work with," said Sasuke, fully satisfied that Sakura had packed everything that he had asked her to. Then again, he knew she would listen; she'd been trained to do so since the day she was born.

Sakura gave him a nod of confirmation. Just as she was about to turn from him and start walking forward again, the boy took one of his hands out of its pocket and used it to grab her wrist, signaling that she should stop.

"Sakura."

Her name hung in the air stiffly.

"Look at me, Sakura."

And she did, because obeying an Uchiha is what her mother and her father and her grandmother and grandfather and her aunt and her uncle had taught her to do.

"Don't use your…abilities…unless it's an emergency. Do you understand me?"

Sakura did understand him, because understanding what an Uchiha says to her is what her mother and her father and her grandmother and grandfather and her aunt and her uncle had taught her to do.

"Dammit, Sakura. Answer me."

His voice was irate; his temper began to flare. She hadn't realized that she wasn't saying anything.

"I understand, Sasuke-sama."

Sasuke looked at her for a moment before releasing her.

Being born and raised an Uchiha, he had always known what those that his clan had enslaved could do. It was not something he feared, but more something that he did not fully understand. Why it was that those with white hair from the lands to the West could do the things they did, Sasuke did not entirely know, and even Sakura, who was descendant from those lands that her ancestors roamed and bled upon, did not entirely know.

"Now," Sasuke started, his temper having vanished almost into thin air, "Take this road out to the exam meet-up building. I'm going to go around and show up a few minutes later. We can't be seen arriving together. It's suspicious."

"_But walking together is okay as long as people we know don't see us?"_ Sakura thought, a light hint of bitterness sprinkled upon the words that the Uchiha could not hear. There was something about the way she wasn't allowed to be around him so much in public that made her bitter.

"Of course. I understand, Sasuke-sama."

Just as she thought that the two would part ways, the boy in front of her took her by the hand, and, for reasons only Sakura was able to understand, he gave it a tight squeeze.

That squeeze was reassurance.

It was fear.

It was anxiety.

It was confidence.

It was love.

Of course, it was a love that Sakura had not yet become accustomed to in the few years she and Sauske had spent together as independently standing master and servant ― the last of two great families.

The love was not whole, nor was it pure.

In fact, it was very broken and muddled.

But maybe, after more time had passed, Sasuke would be able to open his heart to her in a way that made him want to be seen with her out in public, and to not let his frustrations loose on her and to just smile once in a while.

Yes, a smile.

Sakura would like to see him smile.

Almost as if he read her mind, Sasuke did just that.

He smiled.

It was a genuine smile ― one that she had not seen in a long, long time. It wasn't cheeky, and it was far from a grin ― in fact, anyone else would describe it to be the saddest smile that they had ever seen. It was almost a false reality ― Sasuke Uchiha smiling and all.

But Sakura knew that it was real.

It was only one that someone so internally torn and emotionally broken down could muster. It was one that those who had become bereft of that which was more precious to them could conjure. It was just sad.

It made her sad too, that he wasn't happy – that she wasn't happy. They were unhappy together, which was something that made her feeling a deep sadness that maybe no one else in the whole world could ever understand.

Nonetheless, Sasuke let go of Sakura's hand, and with the cold void that he had left her with as he turned away, Sakura went on to the Chunin Exams, not knowing what it entitled, but knowing that she wanted to tear someone apart.


End file.
